Grey’s Anatomy’s Season 14 breaks female Muslim stereotype

CAIRO - 28 June - 2018: The star of Grey’s Anatomy’s season 14, Sophia Ali (known as Dhalia Qadri), managed to break the Muslim “hijabi” stereotype in western television.

The creator of the TV series, Shonda Rhimes, is well known for breaking stereotypes and surpassing boundaries; hence, she killed most of the show’s characters and managed to break the hijabi stereotype by casting Dahlia Qadri, the first hijabi lead character in the show.

Spoiler alert!

The star’s most famous scene in the show was in episode 13, when a young boy was rushed into the ER with a rapid arterial bleeding and she took off her headscarf and tied it tightly on his thigh to help stop the bleeding.

Upon witnessing this scene, Owen was surprised that she took off her hijab to help the young boy, to which she said “hijab is a symbol of [her] faith, but [her] faith is about service and compassion.” Later on, Owen returned her headscarf back to her after having it washed.

This scene managed to send good vibes about Islam to the world, as when Dahlia had to choose between keeping her scarf on and leaving the boy to die or help the boy by taking off her headscarf to wrap a tourniquet around the wound, she picked the latter.

Grey’s Anatomy has been running for 14 seasons since 2005, and it has been very influential in the field of television. Hijabis were present in season 13 in the background as nurses.

Qadri is a symbol of a strong, courageous woman who is not only passionate about helping people, but also kind, humorous and competitive. She also has a crush on Dr. Jackson Avery, and who doesn’t!